July 2016 Message

Beloved Family,

In a few days our yearly ritual begins, first the 16th Annual Mendocino Sufi Youth Retreat followed by the 42 Annual Mendocino Sufi Camp. I look forward to sharing it with many of you.

There is still time to register for our annual Lama Foundation Sufi Sesshin in August. For the East Coasters, I’ll be at Omega Institute for their Labor Day Ecstatic Chant Weekend. I’ll be leading the Dances joined by Murshid(a) Abraham and Halima, along with Krishna Das, Jai Uttal, Fanna-fi-Allah and on. Towards the end of September I make my way to Colorado and October to the Maui Sufi Camp.

I’ve been enjoying the precious time at home, sitting in the garden in the early morning, doing my practices outside, with the birds and the bees and flowers and the trees. Just finished canning Plum Jam, and with tomatoes about to come in more canning and freezing in the near future.

Sending much love,

Shabda

Recite 101x YA NUR ~ YA MUNAWWIR

93. Ya Nur (yaa NOOR)

An-Nur is the essence of light, luminosity itself. A Qur'anic verse says, “Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth.” An-Nur is the light of every soul and an inherent characteristic in every pore of your body. Munawwir is a form of the same root and means the one who illuminates.

It is interesting that the word for “hell” in Arabic is naar, which has the same root as Nur. What makes it hell is that the burning heat there is lacking in light. That kind of burning heat is our inner condition if we don’t embody God’s loving mercy and compassion (rahma) and instead become full of rage.

Whatever way we may turn, we see the all-pervading light of an-Nur. Even the darkness shines from within it. All the various forms of wisdom and guidance are expressions of an-Nur. For example, nur-ul-haqeeqah is the light of truth and guidance on the path. What continues to live on in God when we die is also a legacy of light.

Ya Munawwir (pronounced moo NOW were)

Munawwir is a form of the same root and means the one who illuminates.

To hear the pronunciation: Ya Nur

TEXT and COMMENTARY to STUDY

This month we continue reading Githa Dhyana (On Meditation) by Murshid Samuel Lewis, also known as Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti (One Who is Drawn to God by Grace).

Read Series II: Numbers 5 through 8(A), pages 34-41. Click here to download the document.